Internal investigation independence
Vale of Leven Inquiry · The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report · Issued 24 November 2014 · Addressed to: NHS Health Boards (Scotland)
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Health Boards should ensure that a non-executive Board Member or a representative from internal audit takes part in an Internal Investigation.
Vale of Leven Inquiry, The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report · 24 Nov 2014 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Scottish Government's response discussed feedback, complaints, and governance arrangements but did not provide a clear commitment to ensuring non-executive board members or internal audit representatives participate in all internal investigations.
- The 'Governance for Quality Healthcare in Scotland' framework sets out governance standards for NHS boards, and HIS inspects governance arrangements. However, the specific requirement for non-executive or audit participation in internal investigations is a matter of local board policy.
- This recommendation has been partially addressed through governance frameworks, but there is limited evidence of a national standard mandating non-executive involvement in all internal investigations.
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
Section 3.2 notes that the report addresses issues in NHS boards relating to internal investigations (recommendation 72). While the "Our current position" section discusses feedback, complaints, and the introduction of a statutory duty of candour to promote transparency and learning from adverse events, it does not explicitly detail how NHS boards ensure a non-executive Board Member or a representative from internal audit takes part in an Internal Investigation. Chapter 5 indicates that the Scottish Government has requested progress assessments from NHS boards on this and other recommendations.
Scottish Government · 18 Jun 2015 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 18 Jun 2015 · Scottish Government Scottish Government response addressed internal investigation independence requirements through existing governance frameworks and the Code of Corporate Governance for NHS Scotland. View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.